運輸官員星期五說：“檢查發(fā)現(xiàn)CTA（芝加哥捷運局）新有軌列車鋼制輪子的部件有多處外觀不規(guī)則”。隨后，為安全起見這批車全部停運。

    到目前為止，龐巴迪運輸公司（Bombardier Transportation）一共交付了52輛車，其中有40輛在品客快線（Pink Line）運行到星期四晚上。捷運局發(fā)言人莫利.沙利文（Molly Sullivan）說，這些車將會繼續(xù)停在軌道上，但在問題解決之前，不會使用新車。

    當(dāng)局官員說，是捷運局驗貨人員在龐巴迪運輸公司位于紐約普拉茨堡工廠里發(fā)現(xiàn)這些缺陷的。

    新有軌車是耗資100萬美元組建一只706輛車的車隊訂單的一部分。但它的出線標(biāo)志著捷運局自2010年收到新一代列車第一部樣車以來首次重大受挫。

    沙利文說，現(xiàn)在還不知道這些在鑄造車輪軸承殼體時產(chǎn)生的缺陷會不會造成除外觀瑕疵以外的嚴(yán)重問題。

    官員說，在測試結(jié)束之前，代替這些新的5000系列車運行的將是已有42年高齡的舊車。新車的出列并不會造成服務(wù)的中斷，除非這些舊車壽終正寢出現(xiàn)故障只能被堆在打撈場。

    這些新列車只在品客快線上營運過，原計劃在二月份分階段引入綠色快線。官員說捷運局的計劃是首先在最不繁忙的路線上使用新車，以便在萬一出現(xiàn)問題的時候把對服務(wù)的影響減到最小。

    捷運局官員說，最初驗貨員于上個月在龐巴迪運輸公司裝配廠發(fā)現(xiàn)了鑄造部件的質(zhì)量不符。于是這些鑄件被更換。后來沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)新問題，直到星期二驗貨人員又在制造廠發(fā)現(xiàn)了另外的鑄件質(zhì)量問題。

    捷運局在聲明中說：“捷運局和龐巴迪運輸公司立即展開了更多檢查并在其它鑄件上也發(fā)現(xiàn)了問題?！?/p>

    聲明指出：“正在對部件進(jìn)行嚴(yán)格測試，但為安全起見捷運局決定，在收集到更多資料以前，先停運5000系列車。”

    除了停運投入運行的40輛車，另外12輛已經(jīng)交付的車也將接受檢查，官員說，作為保修合同的一部分，所有的費用都將由龐巴迪運輸公司支付。

    龐巴迪運輸公司發(fā)言人瑪麗安羅伯茨（Maryanne Roberts）說，公司將會向捷運局提交測試和檢查的結(jié)果，“而且我們能夠決定是否需要增加新的測試。”

    捷運局在星期三召開董事會之后，捷運局的總裁福雷斯特.克雷普爾（Forrest Claypool）被問及新車的工藝質(zhì)量。

    “引入的新一代有軌列車的質(zhì)量是穩(wěn)定的”他說，“龐巴迪運輸公司一直都積極處理遇到的任何缺陷和瑕疵?！?/p>

    但是捷運局鐵路工人協(xié)會主席羅伯特.凱利（Robert Kelly）星期五說，新設(shè)備有很多漏洞和培訓(xùn)問題需要解決。

    合并運輸聯(lián)盟（Amalgamated Transit Union）本地308號主席凱利說：“這一直件令人頭痛的事。平均每天都有多輛車停運?！?/p>

    2006年捷運局花了114萬美元從龐巴迪運輸公司訂了706輛有軌列車。計劃在2014年前交付完畢。

－－－－－－－－－－－－－翻譯：中國鑄造網(wǎng) －－－－－－－－－－－－－－

Flaws detected in new CTA rail cars
52 cars — including 40 on Pink Line — will be sidelined until testing is complete

 All of the CTA's new rail cars have been pulled from service as a safety precaution after inspections turned up multiple irregularities in the appearance of steel wheel components, transit officials said Friday.

The 52 cars delivered so far by Bombardier Transportation, including 40 that were in service on the Pink Line until Thursday night, will remain in rail yards and no new cars will be accepted until the issue is resolved, said CTA spokeswoman Molly Sullivan.

The flaws were detected by CTA inspectors at the Bombardier plant in Plattsburgh, N.Y., agency officials said.

The sidelining of the new rail cars, which were part of a more than $1 billion order for a 706-car fleet, marks the first major setback since the CTA received prototypes of the next-generation cars in 2010.

Sullivan said it isn't yet known whether the flaws, which were found in the castings used to make wheel bearing housings, would cause anything more serious than superficial blemishes.

Until testing is completed, the new 5000 Series cars will be replaced by rail cars up to 42 years old, officials said. The switch-out of cars will not cause service disruptions unless the old cars, which had been destined for the salvage heap, malfunction.

The new trains were operating solely on the Pink Line and were to be phased in on the Green Line in February. The CTA's strategy is to introduce the cars on the least-busy lines first in order to minimize service disruptions if problems arise, officials said.

Irregularities in the quality of the castings were first observed by CTA inspectors last month at Bombardier's assembly plant, CTA officials said. The castings were replaced and no additional problems were detected until Tuesday when CTA inspectors found a second quality issue with a casting at the manufacturing plant.

"CTA and Bombardier immediately began more inspections and discovered issues with other castings," the CTA said in a statement.

"The parts are undergoing rigorous testing and while the testing is not complete, CTA decided as a precaution to take the 5000 Series cars out of service until more information is gathered," the statement said.

In addition to the 40 cars pulled from service, 12 cars that had been delivered will also undergo inspections, officials said, adding that all costs will be paid by Bombardier as part of the contract warranty.

Bombardier spokeswoman Maryanne Roberts said the company will present findings from its testing and inspections to the CTA "and together we will be able to determine if additional testing is required."

After a CTA board meeting Wednesday, CTA President Forrest Claypool was asked about the workmanship of the new Bombardier cars.

"It is consistent with the introduction of a new generation of rail cars," he said. "Bombardier has been very responsive in correcting any defects and flaws that we've encountered."

But Robert Kelly, president of the CTA rail workers union, said Friday that there have been many bugs and training issues to work out with the new equipment.

"They are a constant headache. On average many are out of service on a daily basis," said Kelly, president of Local 308 of the Amalgamated Transit Union.

The CTA ordered the 706 rail cars from Bombardier in 2006 at a cost of $1.14 billion. Delivery is scheduled through 2014.